Originally designed for ‘Meanwhile planning projects’, organised and sponsored by The City of Reykjavík, the idea was to make outdoor benches to revive forgotten picnic spots in the outskirts of Reykjavik. The x shape in the threading represents a ‘meeting’ spot. The benches have different styles and colors, but are all made from the same simple materials: pine wood and netting twine, sturdy enough for outdoor use and smart enough for indoor use.

I like this idea because it’s skewing the idea of a bench, turning into something a little lighter and more playful. The interplay between the netting twine and the pine wood is beautiful, especially the version with the blue grey twine. It will be interesting to see how these work out in a public space. Realistically, even if these were to get damaged, say someone damaging the twine, it would be easy enough to rethread the bench and make it new again. I really hope to see one of these while I’m wandering around the city and try it for myself.